(CNN) - Both sides homed in on the economy Saturday in their weekly addresses.

While President Barack Obama promoted his 2014 strategy to take action on helping the middle class - touting his trip to North Carolina this week and pushing for a revival in America’s manufacturing sector - Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Indiana, called on the President to urge the Democratic-controlled Senate to take up a House-approved jobs bill.

Continuing the White House's push to make 2014 a "Year of Action," Obama's weekly address recapped his visit to North Carolina where he announced the creation of "manufacturing hubs" aimed at boosting innovation across the nation.

"Where Congress isn't acting, I'll act on my own to put opportunity within reach for anyone who's willing to work for it," he said.

The President touched on a number of major issues defining the White House agenda this year and pointed to growth in American energy production and slowed increase in health care costs, in part due to the Affordable Care Act.

"I firmly believe that this can be a breakthrough year for America. But to make that happen, we’re gonna have to act - to create good jobs that pay good wages, and to offer more Americans a fair shot to get ahead. That’s what I’m focused on every day that I have the privilege of serving as your president. That’s what I’m going to be focused on every single day of this year."

Republican address

Stutzman said the American people "don’t need to read another jobs report to know that our economy is struggling," and pivoted attention to House-passed bills aimed to promote economic growth.

The Indiana Republican hit back at the "Year of Action" slogan, urging Obama to push his party's leaders in the Senate to make moves on the Republican-controlled House's jobs plan.

"[Democrats] seem to have surrendered to a new normal of high unemployment. Instead of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with out-of-work Americans, they’re focused on making it easier to live without a job. They’re focused on bigger government and less opportunity. More debt and fewer jobs," he said.

"Republicans hope the president is serious about making 2014 a “year of action.” It should start by giving each of these jobs bills an up-or-down vote in the Senate."

soundoff(52 Responses)

yolanda

Class act @ Name jr, etc. Thanks for adding so much to this thread.

January 19, 2014 11:19 am at 11:19 am |

rs

just saying
it is really funny that at the same time you have the far left kooks in here deriding trickle down economics and claiming it does work, you have obama using tax breaks to create 'promise zones' and the state of ny giving large tax breaks to companies relocating there. i'm not sure if the people in here are clueless hypocrites or obama and ny state have finally learned what it takes to grow the economy and create jobs. getting the massive, greedy oppressive federal and state tax piranhas out of the way is a good start.
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Well, JS, we know "Trickle-Down" economics (called VooDoo Economics by President H.W. Bush) doesn't work. If it did, cutting the top tax rate from 78% to 32%, cutting the percentage of total tax revenues paid by corporations from 25% to 5% , and cutting so-called "anti-business" regulations means we ought to be simply swimming in jobs. What we got was an economy where CEOs make 425 time their lowest full-time employees, a nation where 3% own 90% of the tangible wealth, and where the "anti-socialist" party-the GOP, loves to socialize the damages their un-regulated industries cause (i.e. Patriot Chemicals, BP, Target, the Big Branch mine and more- funny how you don't care at all about people killed by corporations).
The GOP is the sorry excuse party of plutocrats like tax-dodger Romney. At least the Democratic Party cares about people- the GOP is too busy playing make believe that "corporations are people too".